The start of a new semester can be a refreshing time on campus, a time when students are — dare we say — excited to learn.
Maybe it isn’t that whimsical, but more people definitely show up for the first few weeks; you can tell by how hard it is to find a parking spot. There are important things to remember though that perhaps you have forgotten over the almost month-long winter break.
Our first tip for the new semester is simple — listen. When the professor is talking, listen to what he or she is saying. There is nothing special or hard about this tip. There is also nothing more annoying than spending 30 minutes at the end of a class listening to student after student ask the same question.
Already this week we have witnessed five separate students ask the same professor essentially the same question. The inquiry, which was explained in class prior to the five follow-up questions, was “Why can’t I bring my laptop to class?” This leads to the next point.
If you bring your laptop to class please try to be as minimally distracting as possible.
Perhaps you are the type of student that can read the professor’s lips while watching clips of the Jersey Shore simultaneously, but most students are not.
The reason so many professors have started banning laptops in classrooms is because so many students have abused the privilege by spending the entire class period on Facebook, YouTube and/or Twitter. If you can’t pull yourself away from the Internet for an hour and 15 minutes, then do the rest of the class a favor and don’t bother showing up.
Our next tips are for faculty, because we like to spread the advice evenly. Professors, please be reasonable when it comes to requesting books. E-mailing your class the required text the night before classes start, then demanding they acquire it within 48 hours or less is a bit unrealistic. Sure, the campus bookstore has the book you are requiring your students to purchase but it is not the only place people shop.
Amazon or Chegg usually have it at a much lower price and require a few days to ship.
Students often have to rush to make up for assignments they couldn’t do while waiting for their text books to ship. If possible please teach the first week without demanding assignments that require heavy use of the textbook.
We have the same request for teachers as we do for students — don’t distract us. This is in reference to the dreaded syllabus that is usually far too long and read aloud the first day of class. Of course your syllabus is going to contain crucial information such as office hours and test dates, but not all information is created equally. UCF’s creed and general information can be found online and in numerous other documents, it does not need to be included on the syllabus.
Useless information wastes time and a lot of paper. It also sends those kids with the laptops to YouTube five seconds faster.
Perhaps you are not ecstatic to be back on campus but you are here. You might as well make the most of it and consider our tips for creating a more enjoyable experience for the new semester.
Be the first to comment on this article!